Knitting is a Comfort

Our two younger sons came home today for a sad occasion. A close friend of theirs died unexpectedly on Saturday, just a few weeks after his 26th birthday. We're all so much in shock that this young, wonderful life is gone from us. Our youngest son and his girlfriend (and two dogs) drove all the way from NM, spent the night at his brother's place in KC, and then drove the rest of the way today. It was about 22 hours of driving. After the funeral tomorrow, they will reverse the process. Both boys will be pallbearers at the funeral. I'm going to play the pipes at the cemetery. I've played many funerals and I've always managed to keep it together even when I know the person; but I haven't had to do it when my boys are broken-hearted. It is hard to believe that they were home several weeks ago to be groomsmen in a wedding and now they are both pallbearers in a funeral.

Over the weekend I finished the Lacy Ribbon skirt and blocked it. I basted it together and will just leave it that way until she tries it on. Now I need to find some quality ribbon that has a vintage look. If you know a source, please let me know. I took this photo after blocking it and pinning it out on the bed in the guest room.

I also whipped up some sweet booties in Queensland Bebe Cotsoy. It is so soft. Cute, cute, cute. The pattern is from an issue of Knit Simple that I checked out of the library. I just happened to have this yarn in my stash and it is very close in color to the sample booties in the pattern. Beware if you knit this pattern. Read my notes on Ravelry. I'll get buttons sewn on soon.

On Sunday I started knitting a Pinwheel Blanket in a very soft cotton the color of butter. It is coming along nicely. After knitting that skirt where I had to be continually vigilant with the double strand, this is a piece of cake. The boys are currently visiting with their friends. It is raining. I am going to knit.

Double Strand is a Slippery Slope

Over the weekend I began knitting the Lacy Ribbon Skirt by Kat Coyle, from Greetings from Knit Cafe. After several attempts to find a yarn substitute the owner of my local LYS showed me Flake Cotton. The cotton yarn as a lot of variation in thickness and I am using a double strand. Double strand means double trouble for me. I keep ending up with extra stitches now and then when the strands separate and I turn one stitch for two. I am sure this happens on the purl rows. I am also debating whether I will knit this in the round or not when I join the lace panels. Sizing is critical and this is my first attempt at a skirt. I do like the look of the textured cotton.

I set up my knitting nest on the back porch where I can look at the birds and the changing colors in the trees. Since I had jury duty this week I took a simpler project with me along with a number of other activities to keep me busy:

• yarn and needles for several easy projects
• my iPod
• crossword puzzles and word games
• PDA with solitaire (last resort)
• magazines
• my new Mason Dixon knitting book
• new cell phone and manual to study
• snacks
  

When I was packing my bag of tricks my husband asked, "Are you taking your knitting?" I was momentarily stunned. "Surely you know me better than to ask that question. I'd go stark raving mad in that room without my knitting."

Fortunately I only had to go in for two mornings and was not called for a jury. Whew! Civic duty accomplished.

Last night we had the pleasure of seeing The African Children's Choir in concert at our church. This is the third time our church has brought them to our town. I volunteered to be a host family as soon as I heard they were coming but the organizer already had enough homes. With jury duty this week it would have been difficult so it probably worked out for the best. If you ever have the opportunity to see this choir make every attempt to go. They are truly a blessing and you won't forget them.

Mostly about My Boys--and some knitting

We had a very special weekend. Our two younger sons came home to be groomsmen in a wedding. Since they both live out of state we only get to see them about twice a year. It is a big event for us to see them, especially together because they are such good friends and we love the interaction. They are friends of both the bride and the groom. Their "ladies" came also and I am fervently praying they will someday be daughter-in-laws. (It's looking pretty good for both at the moment but don't tell anyone!)

I think they are all adorable. The day of the wedding the boys left the girls at the house while they went to the winery to help set things up and have the photo shoot. Being a mother of all boys, it was fun for me to observe the feminine activities, with them painting their nails, doing hair, etc. I had a blast and it was great to get to know them better.

The wedding was held at a local winery, a lovely setting. After the dinner reception the guests moved from the tent to the lawn and patio for dancing. We were first blessed by a gorgeous sunset followed by a clear sky studded with stars.

On the Knitting Front:

Last September my mom, dad and I visited my brother in West Hollywood, home of Knit Cafe. I've been holding off on buying the book, Greetings from Knit Cafe, because I didn't think there was much in there that I would actually make. When my LYS had a 20% off sale I finally broke down and bought it because there was one pattern for a baby sweater that I thought was quite unique. Anyway, after brunch on Saturday the girls were looking at Greetings from Knit Cafe and they both loved the lace skirt that is on the cover. They both said it reminds them of clothing from a store called "anthropologie". (Again, a new world with these young women.) I have since joined a group on Ravelry of people who like that clothing line and there are well over 3,000 of them in the group. The more I thought of it, the more I liked the idea of knitting the skirt. I've since added several more skirt patterns to my Ravelry queue. I'm going to knit one for the more petite of the girls because (1) she was the one who first saw the skirt and commented on it (2) plus she is smaller by at least 5" of skirt length, and (3) she's more likely to be a DIL at this point. Well, that seems to be as good a criteria as any.

This is the little sweater that is knit from side to side. I hope I'm not breaking any copyright laws here. I do recommend buying the book.